


Cupid's Trick

by dr_ducktator



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-22 19:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_ducktator/pseuds/dr_ducktator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new Trouble hits Haven right in the heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cupid's Trick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dvioletta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvioletta/gifts).



> This story takes place sometime during the middle of season 2. The title was taken from the Elliott Smith song of the same name.  
> It was really fun writing this for the challenge. I hope you enjoy it, dvioletta! xxoo

Love was most definitely in the air in Haven. Audrey could feel it, like it was something thick and syrupy. It was a little gross, actually. Audrey enjoyed displays of affection; the candlelit dinner type of romantic gesture did not go unappreciated by her. But what was happening in Haven was, well, a little over-the-top. 

That morning, while walking from the coffee shop to the police station, Audrey had witnessed three different couples in varying stages of making out. One of those couples involved Dave. Now, Audrey had nothing against older people getting it on, but for one thing it was _Dave_ , and for another thing it was Laverne. And to make matters worse, as she passed by the two nearly mauling each other on a park bench, trying her best to shield herself from the horror, she heard Laverne, in that quietly husky voice of hers say, “Just like that, hon, yeah.” Audrey did her best not to throw up.

She charged into the office she shared with Nathan, set his coffee down on the desk, and said in an exasperated voice, “What is it with people the last few days? It’s like everyone’s forgotten what privacy is.” She motioned to Nathan’s coffee, saying, “That’s cool enough, by the way,” and then kept ranting. “I mean, really! When I was a teenager I didn’t just suck face in the middle of the sidewalk. And since when are Dave and Laverne a thing?”

Nathan had only been paying attention to the coffee, really, so when it sunk in that Dave and Laverne had been together, he nearly choked. “Wait, did you say Laverne and Dave? As in _our_ Laverne and Dave _Teagues_? And did you also just say ‘suck face’? Who still says that?”

Audrey sipped her coffee and nodded, wide-eyed, in assent. She swallowed hard, choosing to ignore Nathan’s jab. “Yeah. And that’s not all. Yesterday I saw Vince giving that tandem bicycle of theirs the eye. Something isn’t right, Nathan.

“You think it’s a Trouble?” Nathan asked, staring out the door of his office. “Vince has always been awfully fond of that bike. What would you even call that? A ‘pedalphile’?” Nathan made the joke in his deadest deadpan voice, the voice he liked to use for jokes, but he never looked back at Audrey to see if she'd caught on; he was distracted.

“Har-har, Nathan. But yeah, of course it’s a Trouble. And I think the thing with the Teagues and their bicycle is something else altogether. Vince may be shady, but this other thing is like a whole different level of out there.” She couldn’t hold Nathan’s attention. She turned and tried to follow his line of sight out the door. Then she saw at whom Nathan’s gaze was directed.

Duke Crocker.

Duke hadn’t yet noticed that Nathan was staring at him; he was too busy complaining to the desk sergeant about a parking ticket. It was quite the theatrical display, full of hand-waving and what looked sort of like the chicken dance. Audrey thought Duke would have made a great stage actor in another life.

Audrey waved her hand in front of Nathan’s face. “Nathan? Are you in there?”

Nathan’s attention finally snapped to Audrey. “What? Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to keep an eye on Crocker. He’s always up to something.”

Audrey smiled. “He’s not a movie villain, Nathan. I don’t think he’s always plotting. I say wait until he starts twirling his mustache. Then you can worry about whether I’ll end up tied to a railroad track. Now, can we talk about this potential Trouble?”

Nathan settled back into his desk chair. “Okay, so what, we have a wannabe cupid on our hands, or something? That doesn’t seem so bad. This town could use a happy Trouble now and then.”

Audrey walked over to her desk and sat in the chair. “Come on, Nathan. Since when does any Trouble end up being okay? From what I can tell, it’s only been in effect a couple of days or so; I’m guessing we have yet to see the horrible outcome. There’s always a horrible outcome.”

Nathan smiled. “There’s my little optimist.” He picked up a letter opener and poked at his palm with it. “But you’re right. They’re called Troubles for a reason.”

Just then Duke knocked on the office door. With his usual office-entering bravado he greeted Nathan and Audrey. “Good morning, crime-fighters! I’d like to report some suspicious activity outside my boat.”

“I’m pretty sure the only suspicious thing near your boat is you, Duke,” Nathan said, poking his hand a little harder with the letter opener.

“Ah, Officer Wuornos,” Duke said, hand over his heart. “I can always count on your for a boost to the ol’ self-esteem. Thank you.” He turned toward Audrey. “Seriously, Audrey, there’s some weird shit going on out there. I saw Clem, the grisly old fisherman guy, bringing flowers to the Harbormaster.” 

Duke’s words didn’t have the effect he’d wanted them to. Audrey was clearly unimpressed. She expressed as much. Nathan laughed. Duke scoffed.

“How can you not think this is a big deal? Nathan? Tell Audrey why that’s a big deal.”

Nathan tossed the letter opener on his desk and leaned forward. Rolling his eyes he said, “It’s a big deal because Clem and the Harbormaster have hated each other for years. I think they got in a broken bottle fight once. Oh, and Clem’s not gay as far as I know, so there’s that, too.”

Duke kept his eyes trained on Audrey while he held his hand out in Nathan’s direction in a kind of ‘see what I mean?’ gesture. Audrey stood and nodded at Duke.

“Okay, Duke, I get it,” Audrey said. “Actually, Nathan and I were just saying we think there’s a cupid Trouble or something, but we have no idea who might the be culprit. We also have no clue how people fall under the spell, or whatever it is."

Duke settled into the extra office chair. The three of them were silent. Finally, Nathan spoke. “Okay, so none of us seems to be affected, right? What have we or have we not been doing?”

“Not _we_. You two,” Audrey said as she pointed at Duke and Nathan. “The Troubles don’t affect me, remember?”

“Fair enough,” said Duke. "I’ve been working. Actually, I just got back from a run to--” Duke didn’t finish his sentence; he figured what the police didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. The small nod Nathan gave Duke after he shut up suggested the same.

“You all know what I do: I’m either here or home,” Nathan said, shrugging.

“Well, we’re not going to figure this out by sitting in here staring at each other,” Audrey said, sighing. “But I think we need to stick together. We don’t know the extent of this love spell thing, and with your luck, Duke, you’ll end up in love with a mermaid.” 

Audrey grabbed her coat, and Nathan was on her heels; Duke lagged, lost in thought momentarily. They were about to leave him behind, but Duke snapped back to reality and shouted as he ran out after them, “Hey! It worked out all right for Tom Hanks!” 

__________________________________

The trio walked to the office of the _Haven Herald_. They figured they might as well start with Dave to see if, despite the whole weird thing with Laverne, he’d be able to shed any light on how this may have come about.

All they’d been able to get from Dave is that he was madly in love with Laverne and was planning on proposing. He’d even bought flowers for the occasion. He showed the ostentatious bouquet to Audrey, Nathan, and Duke with pride. He was beaming. Oddly, though, he didn’t seem to remember when they started dating.

They stepped back onto the sidewalk. Nathan rubbed the back of his neck, saying, “Okay, that was weird. There is no way in hell those two are dating. And even if they were dating, I really don’t think they’d be at the getting married stage of dating without at least one of us knowing that they had been dating.” He was pacing back and forth. “Still, I feel sorry for him, you know? He just seemed so happy.”

“Happy or not,” Duke said to the other two, “his weird ass did not get us any closer to figuring this out.” He glanced across the street and saw a couple plastered against the trunk of their car. They seemed about two minutes from full nudity. Duke stuttered and pointed in their direction.

Nathan rolled his eyes and made it a point to look at anything but what Duke wanted him to, while Audrey risked a glance. While the people were impossible to miss, she also noticed that next to the really amorous couple were flowers wrapped in the same paper as Dave’s flowers.

Audrey didn’t want to waste any more time than was necessary, so she yelled at the couple. “Hey! You two! On the Toyota!” She held up her badge once she had their attention. “Haven PD! Break it up, okay? Or just…go…away.” The couple sheepishly buttoned shirts and pants and got into the car.

“It’s the flowers, guys,” Audrey said. “We need to go see the florist before this gets worse.” 

And it was getting worse. Wherever they looked, people were really getting into the loving spirit.

“Those flowers came from Abigail’s Flowers on 10th; it’s the best florist in Haven,” Nathan said. 

Audrey looked at Nathan blankly while Duke sniggered. Nathan shrugged, saying, “What? A guy can’t know about flowers?”

They started walking in the direction of 10th Street. Audrey stopped them. “Guys, why don’t I go alone to Abigail’s? I don’t know how the Trouble is passed, and we know I’m safe. You should go talk to Clem and the Harbormaster. Just don't touch them or anything.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. Being on Duke duty was never his idea of fun. “Sure, fine.” 

Audrey headed toward their original destination while Duke and Nathan changed direction.

“Finally!” Duke said triumphantly. “My complaint is recognized!”

“Yes, Duke. You, who never get any attention whatsoever, are finally being acknowledged.” They’d made their way to where Nathan had parked the Bronco that morning. “Get in. It’s faster if we drive.”

On their way to the docks, Duke ran a finger over the skull and crossbones sticker he’d given Nathan years ago. “I can’t believe you kept this. I can’t believe you stuck it on the Bronco.”

Nathan didn’t take his eyes from the road. “Well, I put it on there when _things_ were different, and once it was there I figured it was more of a pain in the ass to try and take it off than to just leave it. I figure it will wear away eventually.”

Duke sensed the tension in Nathan’s voice. He knew what Nathan meant by ‘things’, and he didn’t want to press the issue. They always fought when he did. They both remained quiet the rest of the trip, and Duke tried to settle the sick feeling in his stomach.

Nathan spoke with Clem, and Duke tried to speak with Clem. He couldn’t, though, because Nathan kept cutting him off every time he tried to ask a question. Regardless, they were able to get a little more out of Clem than they could Dave. Clem said he’d bought his flowers from this little boy who’d come up to him outside the Haven library. They couldn’t get much more out of him; he was chomping at the bit to find his “beloved.” Both Duke and Nathan made “ew” faces at that.

They’d sent Clem on his way, and Duke rounded on Nathan. “What the hell was that, Nathan? You didn’t let me get a word in edgewise. I had some important questions to ask.”

Nathan stormed off in the direction of Duke’s boat with Duke on his heels. “Oh, I’m sorry, Duke. I didn’t realize you had questions. I also didn’t realize you’d become a police officer. What questions did you have? Do you want to call Clem back?” He grabbed Duke’s jacket and started pulling him back toward where they’d left Clem. “Clem, wait!” Nathan shouted. “Officer Crocker and I have some more questions!”

This was always how it went with them. They’d be okay for a little while, but then, usually out of nowhere, one of them would start something. That’s just how they operated.

Duke yanked himself out of Nathan’s grasp and held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I get it, Jesus, Nathan. I’m not a cop. I know. I’m sorry. I’m not even close to being uptight enough to be a cop. I just wanted to ask him something about the flowers themselves, you know? Like, maybe it’s a certain flower or something.”

“It’s not,” Nathan said flatly. He again turned in the direction of Duke’s boat.

“How do you know? How do you know anything about flowers, Nathan?” Duke asked. “Since when are you into romance?”

Nathan turned back and shot Duke a dirty look. “I’m plenty romantic, not that it’s any of your business. At least I stay in one place long enough to have a relationship if I so choose.”

Neither of them was really paying attention to where they were going. They were just going to where it was familiar, it seemed. 

“If you so choose, huh? How’d that choosing go with Jess?” Duke had stopped walking again. “Oh, that’s right. It didn’t.” 

Nathan paused, huffed out a small laugh, and bit his lip. “First of all, you don’t know what went on with Jess and me. And second, how’s your _wife_ , Duke?” Nathan turned back around and started walking. 

Duke was just about to say something he knew would hurt Nathan when he heard a little boy’s voice behind him. 

“Excuse me, sir? Would you like to buy some flowers? I’m selling them for a school trip.”

Both Duke and Nathan wheeled around to see a boy, no more than ten-years-old, holding a bouquet of flowers that looked identical to the ones they’d seen Dave and Clem with earlier. 

Duke and Nathan remained speechless. The boy went on, addressing Duke. “Maybe you could give them to your friend. I couldn’t help but hear you arguing. Flowers can make things better.”

Duke and Nathan looked at each other nervously. Finally, Nathan said, “How long have you been selling these flowers, kid?”

“Not long. Just a couple of days since the school fundraiser started.”

Duke let out a whistle. “Man, when I was a kid they made us sell candy. Flowers seem a little weird.”

The kid seemed nervous then. “Well, we had to sell chocolate, too. This is just a new one they’re trying, I guess. Look. Just do me a favor, okay? I bet some kids that I couldn’t sell all the flowers, and they’re watching me right now. These are the last ones. And like I said, they’ll make everything better. So could you just take them and give them to your friend there?” The kid shoved the rest of the flowers into Duke’s hands and waited.

Duke stared at Nathan, open-mouthed. “What the hell am I supposed to do with these?”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Give me those.” Duke held the flowers out and Nathan yanked them away. The little boy watched with a smile on his face.

“I was doing perfectly fine holding on to them, Officer Wuornos,” Duke sniped.

Nathan manhandled Duke with the hand that wasn’t full of flowers and turned him away from the boy. “Duke, I’m not in the mood for this. These,” and she shook the flowers in Duke’s face, “are now evidence. We still haven’t figured out what it is making people act like idiots.”

Duke hissed at Nathan as he jerked out of his grasp, “Maybe once we solve this case we can solve the great mystery of why you’re such an asshole.”

They turned back around to find that the little boy had a confused look on his face. “How much for them, kid?” Nathan asked.

“Um, you know what? Don’t worry about it,” the kid said. 

It was Nathan’s turn to look confused. “What? No. They’re for your school trip. Of course I’ll pay you. How much?”

“Um, $100,” said the boy, obviously pulling a number out of the air.

Nathan coughed. “$100? Are you kidding? That’s--”

Duke cut Nathan off by shoving a hundred-dollar-bill at the kid. “Here, kid. Go. Tell your friends you won the bet.”

The kid shoved the money in his pocket. He didn’t say thank you; he didn’t say anything, really. But the look on his face was one of a total lack of understanding.

Nathan inhaled the scent of the flowers deeply as he and Duke watched the kid wander off. Exhaling he said, “That kid’s up to something. I think he’s connected to all this somehow.”

“We should find Audrey and tell her about him. Maybe she learned something at Abigail’s.” Nathan nodded his agreement. Duke continued, “But first, we should get those in some water, don’t you think?” He gave Nathan what he thought was a kind smile.

“Yeah,” Nathan said. “I suppose we should.” He then walked to the side of the boardwalk and unceremoniously dropped the whole bouquet into the harbor.

Duke’s face fell. “That’s not what I meant, Nathan.”

“I know,” Nathan said, and walked back to where he’d parked the Bronco.

Duke followed him. He didn’t want to, not really. He wanted to let Nathan go and solve his own fucking non-crimes, but, as usual, he couldn’t help himself. He’d never been able to stay away from Nathan. As he was walking toward the Bronco, Duke glanced over in the direction in which the kid was heading after he’d paid him. The kid was standing in the distance, watching them, with his fists clenched. Knowing how Troubles could go horribly very quickly, Duke picked up the pace to catch up with Nathan.

Despite his agitated exit, Nathan was in the Bronco waiting for Duke. “Took you long enough,” was all he said as he started the truck. 

“Fuck off,” Duke replied. 

_________________________________

They’d just parked when Audrey came running up to the truck to greet them. She had on her face the bright-eyed look of discovery. Nathan turned the Bronco off, and looked at Audrey. Simultaneously they said, “It’s not Abigail’s.”

Nathan climbed out of the Bronco and shut the door; Duke did the same and walked around the front of the truck.

“How do you know?” Audrey asked.

“Well, we’re pretty sure it’s not _only_ Abigail’s,” Duke said. “We think this weird little kid has something to do with it, too.”

Nathan cut in. “When we went to question Clem this kid came out of nowhere and told us flowers would make us happier and that he was selling them for some school trip. They had the same paper as Abigail’s, though.”

“Does Abigail have any children?” Audrey asked.

“Not that I’ve ever been aware of,” Nathan answered. 

“It gets weirder, though,” Duke interjected. “See, he was all frustrated or something after Nathan took the flowers from me. And he wasn’t all that interested in money even though he said he was selling the flowers for a school trip. And then, after Nathan had one of his hissy fits and stormed off, the kid was still watching us. He looked pissed and confused. Sort of like that,” and he pointed at Nathan’s face.

“Fuck off, Crocker,” said Nathan.

“Nope. I was wrong. _That’s_ the face he was making,” Duke said, smiling and still pointing.

“Boys, enough!” Audrey said, exasperated. “We need to figure out the connection between that kid, Abigail’s flower shop, and this lust Trouble, or whatever it is. Abigail did mention giving a pretty sizable amount of flowers to a kid a couple of days ago. She’d asked him why he was buying so many flowers, and he said it was to make some people feel better. Luckily, there still don’t seem to be any major problems like death and destruction, but our luck could run out any minute. I say we find that kid and ask him a few more questions.”

“The kid told us when he was giving us the flowers that they’d make everything better for us,” Duke said, looking at Nathan.

“Yeah, those flowers sure are miracle workers,” Nathan replied sarcastically.

Audrey, clearly at the end of her rope, put her hands on her hips, saying, “What are you two talking about?”

“Oh, we were just having a disagreement over who’s the better Batman. See, I think it’s Michael Keaton, and Nathan here, well, he thinks it’s Val--”

“Okay, I get it, you don’t want to tell me,” Audrey said, cutting Duke off. “But Duke, if you’re going to be in this you have to be in this.” She turned to Nathan. “And you—you can’t keep taking the bait. Now let’s go find that kid.”

They searched all over Haven, looking in places they figured a nine-year-old kid might hide out, but there was no sign of him, and it was getting dark. They agreed to get some rest and try again in the morning.

__________________________________

Audrey and Nathan were at the police station waiting for Duke to show up. Nathan was impatient and didn’t want to wait for Duke, and just as Audrey was about to give in, Duke stormed into the police station, hauling the kid with him.

“Look who I found lurking by my boat this morning,” Duke announced proudly as he deposited the kid in Nathan and Audrey’s office. “He said he was just out for a walk, but the only kids that hang out by the docks are kids that turn out to be me, and you’re not me, kid. So spill.”

The kid was clearly intimidated by Duke. Given the gravity of the situation, Nathan made himself suppress a laugh; Duke was the one of least intimidating people on the planet. It was one of the things he had once loved about him. “Duke,” Nathan said, his tone kind, “take it easy. He’s just a kid.” 

Audrey crouched down in front of the little boy. “What’s your name?” she asked in her gentle, Audrey-talking-to-a-kid voice.

“Cecil,” the kid said. 

“Cecil, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Audrey. Are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?”

Cecil nodded. Audrey motioned for Duke to get a drink for Cecil then went on with her questioning. “Can you tell me about the flowers, Cecil?”

And it was like a dam breaking, as Cecil answered in a panicked rush.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything bad. It’s just that I got mom and dad flowers and it worked, and I was happy, and they were happy, so I wanted to make other people happy like that, so I tried it out on this man and woman who looked like they should like each other, and it worked, so I just kept going, but then it didn’t work on those guys,” he said, pointing at Duke and Nathan, “and I don’t get why.”

“Thank you, Cecil, that’s very good. But I need you to slow down a little.” Audrey had pulled up a chair to sit in while Cecil told his story. The little boy sipped the soda Duke had just given him. “What did you mean when you said the flowers made your parents happy?”

He had tears in his eyes now. “My parents were talking about getting divorced. My mom’s always loved when my dad’s gotten her flowers, so I brought some flowers home from Miss Abigail’s shop. I handed them to dad just as mom was coming home. She saw him with the flowers and thought he’d bought them for her. When he handed them to her it was weird, like, kind of gross weird. They just started kissing like crazy. But they were happy about it.”

Audrey looked up at Nathan from where she sat. They both knew: Cecil was Troubled. 

“Why don’t you come for a walk with me, Cecil?” Audrey asked. “I want to show you something.”

Cecil wiped his face and stood up. They walked out of the station. People were making out all over the place.

“You’ve been busy giving away flowers, haven’t you?”

Cecil nodded. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. Really. I just wanted to make people happy.”

“Have you heard of the Troubles, Cecil?

“I’ve heard stories.” His eyes got wide and he stopped dead. “But I’m not like that! The Troubles hurt people. I don’t hurt people! I just make people like each other. There’s nothing bad about that, right? And come on, it doesn’t even work all the time. I think it’s wearing off.”

Audrey had led them to a park bench near the water and away from the surprising number of couples in various states of physical affection.

“Why do you think it’s wearing off? The effects of the Trouble can wear off, maybe, but the Trouble itself usually sticks around.”

Cecil slumped down on the bench. “It didn’t work on those men you were with.”

“Duke and Nathan?” Audrey asked.

“Yeah. The police guy got the flowers from the boat guy and nothing happened. They just kept fighting. I don’t get it.”

Audrey turned Cecil to face her. “Look, Cecil, I’m sorry about your parents. I wish this wasn’t happening. But you can’t make people fall in love or whatever it is that happens when you give them your flowers. It isn’t right. People are supposed to want to be with each other out of their true feelings.”

“I know,” Cecil said. “It only lasts a couple of days, anyway. I was on my way home with that big bouquet and was going to give it to my parents again, but I knew it wasn’t an okay thing to do, so I thought I’d play cupid one last time. But like I said, it didn’t work, so I figured it was all over anyway.”

“You’re pretty wise beyond your years, you know that, Cecil?”

“Doesn’t matter. Being wise or whatever won’t keep my parents together.”

“No, it won’t. Love’s a weird thing. Listen, go home and talk to your parents. Tell them how you feel.” Cecil got up off the bench and started walking away. “And don’t give anyone any flowers!” Audrey called after him. “Like, ever. Never again! Go with chocolates or something!”

Audrey put her face in her hands and laughed. “Only in Haven,” she said to no one in particular.

She walked back to the police station. When she got there, Nathan was sitting at his desk. Duke was nowhere to be seen. 

“Wanna fill in the blanks for me, Parker?”

Audrey sat on the corner of his desk. “I think his parents’ impending divorce triggered his Trouble.” She smiled sadly. “He just wanted to make people happy. And he said it wears off pretty quickly. I think if we just keep an eye on people, things will be okay. As Troubles go, this one’s probably my favorite just because of the serious lack of a death toll.”

“So where’s the kid now?”

“I sent him home. There’s not much else we can do, you know? He’s a kid who’s heartbroken because his parents don’t love each other anymore. He thought he could make them fall in love again. He thought he could make _anybody_ fall in love. But that’s not how it works. Love isn’t something you just force on two people.”

Audrey went back to her desk and started on some paperwork. Nathan stood up from his desk. 

“What about the others? The other people the kid gave flowers to?”

“What about them?” Audrey asked, confused by Nathan’s questions.

Nathan fidgeted. “I mean, were they couples already, or were they just random people?”

“Well, from what I could gather from the kid, he just made sure people gave flowers to people _he_ thought they should like. I mean, he was like nine, Nathan. Matchmaking at that age is probably not an exact science. Why do you care, anyway?”

“I have to go.” He grabbed his jacket and left. 

Audrey shrugged, unfazed. If she knew one thing about Nathan, she knew he was mercurial. His bursting in and out of places wasn’t new.

__________________________________

Nathan found himself standing in front of Duke’s boat. He felt like he could throw up. He was nervous because he needed to tell Duke the truth, and it was a truth Nathan refused to acknowledge until some damn kid with some stupid Trouble made it so he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“Are you coming up, or are you going to stand there with that constipated look on your face?” Duke hollered from the deck.

Nathan boarded the _Cape Rouge_ and Duke led them below decks. Visits from Nathan usually required alcohol, so Duke pulled out two glasses and poured them each a healthy amount of whiskey. He settled into the bench seat and waited. Duke knew an agitated Nathan meant something big.

“So, Audrey solved the mystery. Seems the kid just wanted to get his parents back together. He gave his dad flowers to give his mom, and just like that, they’re going at it. He liked making people happy, so he started handing out flowers left and right, to any people he felt like, and just like his parents, they all just went for it in the middle of everything.” Nathan sat down and took a long drink.

Duke thought for a minute. He stared at the glass in his hand. Then it hit him. “It didn’t work on us.”

Nathan swallowed. “Nope. It didn’t.”

“Why didn’t it work on us?” Duke stood up. Some people liked to sit down to hear important news; Duke usually started out sitting, but he preferred standing. 

Nathan stood too. “I think it didn’t work because there isn’t anything to fix between us.” He stepped into Duke’s space. “We aren’t broken. Not in the way that the kid’s Trouble would affect us, anyway.”

Duke swallowed hard, his breath caught. “But we’re a little bit broken, Nathan. I mean, you can’t deny that. Things haven’t been the same between us for years. Not since--”

“Stop,” Nathan said, raising a hand to silence Duke. “Every time we try to talk about anything that has to do with whatever we are or were, we dredge up the past. I don’t want to do that again. It always ends in a fight. I know I antagonize you and start fights just as much as you do with me. But not tonight, okay?” 

They still hadn’t moved from their too-close-for-talking positions. “So why couldn’t the kid fix us, Nathan? Why are we broken differently?” It wasn’t often that Nathan was open like this, and Duke wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

Nathan smiled shyly and looked down. “You really gonna make me spell it out, Crocker?” He looked back up to see Duke smiling.

Duke put a hand behind Nathan’s neck. Even though he couldn’t feel it, Nathan still leaned into the touch. Duke spoke, though quietly. “Yes I am, Officer Wuornos. It’s not every day I get to claim the high ground. And while I am not sure if there is a high ground involved here, I’m claiming it just in case. So talk.”

Nathan held Duke’s gaze. “Cecil’s Trouble didn’t affect us because I still--” Nathan’s voice caught in his throat. “Because _we_ are still--” He couldn’t finish the sentence. A small, almost hysterical laugh escaped him. He tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and let it out. 

Duke was quiet, waiting.

Nathan tried again. “It didn’t work because I’m pretty sure his Trouble only works on people who aren’t actually in love. So, that means it didn’t work on you and me because we…I…”

Duke smiled. It was a brilliant, beautiful smile. It was the smile Nathan remembered putting on his face hundreds of times all those years ago. Nathan could hardly breath from the enormity of the moment and the onslaught of memories. 

Duke leaned in even closer to Nathan, drawing him nearer with the hand that was still on the back of his neck. He whispered into Nathan’s ear. “It’s okay, Nathan. I still love you, too.” 

Nathan grabbed on to Duke and held tight. There was so much he wanted to say to Duke, but now, now that the truth was out there between them, Nathan knew there’d be time. So, instead of trying to say everything he wanted to say all at once, he simply squeezed Duke tighter and whispered “Thank you” and “I’m sorry” into his neck over and over.

They stayed like that for a long while. Cupid's trick, or whatever it was, had worked.


End file.
